This invention relates in general to headcatches and more particularly to a support for a headcatch that can be mounted on a vehicle in a manner permitting the headcatch to be rotated between a storage position and a capturing position, and where the combination of the vehicle, headcatch and supporting framework additionally acts as an animal restraining mechanism.
A headcatch, also referred to as a stanchion or pinch chute, is commonly used in ranching, farming, veterinary medicine and other professions dealing with animals. A headcatch is a device that allows an animal's head to be held relatively immobile so that the animal may be medically treated, groomed, or so that any desired procedure may be performed on the animal. The headcatch name is derived from the fact that the animal is usually held about the head or neck region. A headcatch is predominantly used with cattle. It is often necessary or convenient to perform a desired activity or treatment on an animal while it is in a field or in a pasture. Thus, a portable headcatch is necessary in order to treat the animal on location instead of transporting the animal to a barn or other area where a permanently positioned headcatch is available.
In order to quickly and efficiently administer the desired treatment on the animal while in the field, the headcatch must be transported to that site, preferably by a vehicle. Thus, portable headcatches mountable on a vehicle have been developed such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,741, issued Mar. 11, 1986, but this device is disadvantageous in that it does not enable the user of the headcatch to quickly disengage the headcatch from a storage position on the vehicle to the "in use" or capturing position in a rotational manner without removing the headcatch from the support frame. There is a need for a portable vehicle mounted headcatch that enables the user to quickly and easily position the headcatch alongside the vehicle for capturing an animal, such as cattle, and that can also provide a barrier to the animal's movement when herding the animal toward the headcatch.